<http://www.courant.com/news/nationworld/hc-subways0202.artfeb02,0,6948331,p rint.story> http://www.courant.com/news/nationworld/hc-subways0202.artfeb02,0,6948331,pr int.story
Better-Armed Police Set For N.Y. Subways By VERENA DOBNIK Associated Press February 2, 2008 NEW YORK - <http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/trb.courant/news/natworld;ptype=ps;slug=hc-s ubways0202artfeb02;rg=ur;pos=1;sz=300x250;tile=1;ord=98120121?> In what officials describe as a first for a U.S. mass transit system, teams of police officers armed with submachine guns and bomb-sniffing dogs will soon begin daily patrols of the busiest sections of New York City subways. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Friday that a major boost in funding from the Department of Homeland Security made the extra protection possible for the city's vast subway system, long considered a potential target for terrorists. "Whether conventional crime or terrorist threat, we will not let our guard down," Kelly said at a press conference at Grand Central Terminal, where officials announced the increase in security dollars. Teams composed of a sergeant, five officers and a bomb-sniffing dog will circulate each day on subway platforms and trains, focusing on stations below Grand Central, Penn Station, Herald Square and other high-traffic spots, officials said. In recent years, similar, so-called Hercules units - distinguished by their special black uniforms, helmets and body armor - have patrolled above ground around Wall Street and landmarks like the Empire State building as part of the NYPD's response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Kelly said the new measure makes sense because "the subway system has been the target of several terrorist plots." Among the threats the NYPD cited: a reported plot by al-Qaida terrorists to kill thousands of New Yorkers by spreading cyanide gas in the subway; a thwarted scheme to blow up the Herald Square station in 2004; and the discovery by investigators in the 2004 Madrid train bombing of a crude diagram of Grand Central Terminal on a computer disk seized from one of the suspect's homes. However, Kelly said, the New York subway system "is the safest it's been in memory." Kelly was joined at the press conference by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who said transit systems in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey will receive $151.2 million in new grant money - an increase of more than 50 percent from last year's figure of $98 million. Explaining the increase, Chertoff said law enforcement officials in the three states "have to deal with vulnerabilities and threats in this region that are really second to none." The collaboration between the federal government and regional authorities to pinpoint security risks and take action is "a model for the entire country," Chertoff said. Kelly later told The Associated Press that an unspecified portion of the additional money would pay for the new subway initiative, called Operation Torch. Within three weeks, "you'll see officers with automatic weapons, you will see additional bomb-sniffing dogs funded by this program," he said, adding that for security reasons, he could not specify how many teams would be deployed. The police commissioner told the AP that the weapon to be used is the Heckler & Koch MP5, a German-designed submachine gun. NYPD officials said they believe that no other city in America had taken a comparable counterterrorism measure for mass transit. The department's transit division already conducts random bag checks and inspections of subway tunnels and ventilation systems in search of explosive devices. Hidden cameras register any suspicious action. The homeland security chief said it's the result of collaboration between federal and regional law-enforcement and anti-terrorism authorities, who "laid out the most significant vulnerabilities" to pinpoint locations at the highest risk of attack. That's where the new funding is going, he said. Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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